Jibikao
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Yeah too bad. I thought Power Boost would improve the -regen part but they are set to be unaffected.
Beam/Energy would be a perfect range-Stalker build. :P -
Quote:How much +recharge do you need with 3-slotted Hasten to make it perma?Originally Posted by Granite Agent
My StJ/Ice has more than 2000 hp on Test at lvl 50, with no accolades, due to Hoarfrost (perma).
With Ice Armor having resistance against slow debuff, making it perma is even better! I think hasten on, I have about 127% recharge. Not quite enough but I think I rather have higher S/L defense with kinetic combat sets. A few seconds off shouldn't matter that much. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Negative_Man
One thing I haven't seen anyone mention yet in this thread is the lack of synergy with secondary sets that are unable to stop or slow runners.
Without ranged attacks, the pets will have to chase everything, and this would be really chaotic with /Pain or /Thermal. You could argue that Ninjas already have to deal with this but at least they have some range, and the Jounin spam caltrops. Your only hope is an AoE immobilize from the Patron Pools.
It's also unclear how the beasts will attack fliers if your secondary is unable to bring them down. I'm hoping the primary will address this somehow; adding -Fly to one or more of the primary attacks (Edit: it looks like Call Hawk and Locusts do this already).
I was hoping to combine it with /pain, but it seems far from optimal at this point.
I still plan on making one, of course. I've wanted this for years. Planning the build already!!! o.0 =)
My Beast/FF is level 14 now. What I can tell so far is that all 6 pets have at least one attack that can slow down the enemies. Dire Wolf is supposed to bring a lot more "cold" damage which translate into more -slow debuff.
I can't say for sure that's enough because I don't have a high level beast.
The main difference between Ninja and Beast is that Beast doesn't "scatter" the mobs. Ninja have two caltrops and rain of fire that scatter the mobs on purpose. And depending on the enemy's AI, Ninjas would chase and cause more aggros.
Beast doesn't really "fear" mobs away, but Beast runs even faster than Genins with Wild Charge so if they chase, I don't think you can cancel in time if there is an nearby mob. You just have to put "tight leash" on them. :P
As for fliers, Hawk attack has -fly.
They are currently going to add more survival to the melee pets (more defense and some S/L resistance). We'll see once the new changes are in. -
Quote:Good luck. :P /Poison is one of the worst sets to keep pets alive. You've got 6 melee pets running in screaming for "aoe us to death!".Originally Posted by Knowmad
Beast/Poison sounds good.
I hope your green ball of healing can keep up with it. -
Quote:Originally Posted by BrandX
My problem with Ninjitsu is the clickie Mez Protection. This didn't bother me with SR, but with NIN, it bothers me.
Also, once softcapped, I've found the lack of KB protection to be less of a problem. Then putting in 1 or 2 KB Resist IOs tends to really fix all that, but not getting hit tends to keep one from being KBed.
My other problem with NIN, is it gives up a higher DDR for a self heal and some (imo) not worth it toys. Love the concept of it, and I think I'll end up enjoying the set much more on a Scrapper, but as it is now, for a Stalker, I prefere WP.
I actually find that a bit sad, as I would hope NIN would be the #1 choice for Stalkers, even more so if they plan to keep it Stalker exclusive.
Will they keep it exclusive? No idea. They may say NIN is Stalker's Shield. OR they may just proliferate it. *shrug*
Hopefully they keep Ninjitsu a Stalker-only set because Stalker doesn't get sets that don't "match" their theme. Scrapper, Brute and Tanker are not "assassins". Quite frankly, I don't really give a s@#$ about theme but if they insist on Stalker not getting Shield and Titan Weapon, then the reverse must be true as well. Other ATs shouldn't get Ninjitsu.
I don't think Ninjitsu is bad. I just think Ice Armor is a lot better. -
Quote:More reason to love Ice Armor! :POriginally Posted by PleaseRecycle
Just checked and ice armor does indeed make you completely immune to both slow movement and -recharge when you fire EA. -
Quote:This is what I have problem with Kheldian in general. Warshade is ok because the human form powers can be really good and you can bypass tanker form.Originally Posted by Smiling_Joe
Nova is SUPPOSED to be the damage dealing form. It currently isn't doing its job.
Nova form just sucks. It is only good when you first get it. For a Form that locks out all pool powers and restricts you from using any human form powers, it is highly over-rated. Nova form excels in aoe damage but it should also excel in ST damage because Nova form doesn't get to wear resistance toggles or use healing powers. Nova should be the most damaging form period and it isn't.
They can easily fix this by improving the attack chain. Just increase the recharge on Nova Bolt and Nova Blast so the base damage is higher (ratio 3s and 6s for example). Give it 20% recharge discount like the Claw set has because Nova is an offensive form. The current Nova Bolt has 1.5s casting time for a 1.5s recharge attack. That is just terrible DPA. Gleaming Bolt only has 1s casting time.
I've suggested that they can do something fancy with Nova form by giving it a +damage aura or -resistance on energy resistance. -
Quote:I haven't played Robots for a long time. I thought tier one Robot has two attacks that can knock back? If it's just one, then use it for pet unique.Originally Posted by Biowraith
Agree with most of this, with a few exceptions:
I'd give Grave Knights the Lady Grey negative damage proc as well as the -resist one.
The chance for smashing knockback in tier 1 robots only has a chance to fire on one of their (three?) attacks, which although not useless isn't as attractive as most of the other proc slottings mentioned here - you may have other things that would be more valuable in that slot (e.g. one of the def or res aura uniques).
I'd be torn with Enforcers as to whether to slot the procs, or use the slots to enhance their defense (Maneuvers). It'd depend somewhat on my secondary.
As for Grave Knight, I find that they don't use broadswords enough. It's a shame that they didn't give GK Accurate Tohit Debuff because they use Dark Blast attacks way more often. I would put negative proc from ATD set. -
It's always better to have a mix of high defense and some resistance or +Maxhp because with Stalker's lower HP, you don't want to get one-shotted by AV or some bosses.
Ice Armor excels:
1. Icy Bastion! Yes, it only lasts 30s but during that 30s, you get great 200% recovery (use it when you low on endurance) and an amazing base 400% +regeneration (which acts like healing). You can enhance the +regen part with sets. Oh and Icy Bastion has no "endurance crash" or anything. Strength of Will has -50% end.
I use Icy Bastion when my endurance is low. I don't always use it just because I am in trouble. Casting time of Icy Bastion is only 1.17s, which is shorter than Strength of Will.
Strength of Will lasts longer but it only has 30% +recovery and no +regen and the +resistance values are much lower than Icy Bastion. On my 50+1 MA/Will, I can run out of endurance during a long fight. I won't have that problem with /Ice.
2. Chilling Embrace: Yes, it is melee-oriented but it has 10' radius! You are not just reducing one target. You are reducing all the enemies around you and making them run much slower. With Stalkers not having any taunt, some mobs will run away when their health is low. I find CE an excellent way to keep mobs run away slower so I can finish them off. CE has 15% damage debuff (less against higher level mobs of course). Kinetic / Ice should be the best -damage debuff in the game.
3. Energy Absorption: When you are fighting a huge mob, Energy Absorption acts as another way to boost your type defense (minus Psionic) and it gives you more endurance. Mids shows that both Energy Absorption and Permafrost have 20% Res(Multi). Does this mean they give 40% resistance to slow debuffs?
When I think of the term "Survival", I don't just look at the Defensive end. By having better Offense, you kill more efficiently and takes less damage. Ice Armor delivers that by slowing down the mobs so they don't run away that fast, and having two ways to give you +endurance during long fight. You can have the highest defense but without ways to get endurance, you will die eventually. Willpower lacks the +endurance part. Other than that, Willpower is very good too. -
Quote:None of my Stalker is +3 Incarnate but I think I've found one that's worth the effort. SJ/Ice!!! The burst damage nature of SJ + Ice Armor just makes this toon a perfect stalker with debuffs.Originally Posted by viper_kinji
I have paired my StJ with Ice and am absolutely not disappointed.
Will be better once HP cap is raised and Hoarfrost becomes more than a heal in most situations. -
Quote:I never find Ninjitsu that great. It has no defense debuff resistance (I think) and it lacks -kb protection.Originally Posted by Swansu
What about Ice vs Ninj? Debating on what I want to roll with Staff come i22. Ninj is probably easier to softcap but Ice Has Hoarfrost, Energy Absorption, and Icy Bastion. But the graphics on the armors are horrible -__-
Ice Armor beats Ninjitsu by a pretty large margin IMO. You get aoe damage debuff, slow debuff (they attack you less = less damage taken = they run away slower = you kill more efficient!) and you even have slow debuff resistance! You can run through enemy's caltrops with no problem.
Seriously, my SJ/Ice is lvl 45 now and has decent set bonuses. I don't think I can pick any other secondary when I make a new Stalker. Ice Armor is THAT good. The only problem is soft-capping it can be expensive because of Kinetic Combats. My budget for one toon is usually quite small. -
Having played several stalkers to 50, I have to say Ice Armor is hands down the most survivable secondary set as long as you are not fighting AVs with big psionic attack. Regular bosses with psionic is ok because you still have Maxhp and Chilling Embrace to debuff their damage and you can take them down pretty quick.
Ninjitsu is not even close. The thing I don't like about Ninjitsu and Dark Armor is their lack of knock back protection. I only want to put one -kb set. I do not want to run expensive toggle Acrobatics or put 2-3 more -kb sets. One -kb is not enough against certain attacks, and Pylon is one of them. Ugh!
Both Willpower and Energy Aura are decent. I would rank them as #2 on the list. Electricity Armor is also ok if you run tough/weave and good defensive set bonuses.
So far, Ice Armor with good recharge is hands down the best secondary I've tried.
If I want 20% recharge bonus, I'll choose either Energy Aura or Electricity Armor. I think Super Reflex is way too one-dimensional and it's not that good in Incarnate with that many auto damage. -
In a way, I am glad MoM is hard. It is the 3rd generation itrials and it's not meant for incarnates who have not advanced to 50+2 or 50+3. I think even 50+1 is a bit too low for second part of MoM because of all the auto damage and the spike damage from AV. Once you are dead, you will have a hard time getting up without a real rez. A small wakie will not do it.
Key point in MoM:
1. Bring Psionic protection!!! Widows and /dark are the best choice. I have the most easy time with my Fortunata. Several Mind Links will give the team a lot of psionic resistance. Those "pink patches" deal psionic damage I think because my Fortunata can stand in the patch for a while. The second time we beat MoM, we had 2 Widows. 2 Mind Links can really reduce AV's psionic damage by a large margin.
2. Bring more 50+2 and 50+3 which also means you'll have destiny. Barrier and Rebirth are needed.
3. Second part requires attention. Don't use any aoe that have immb/knock back or any control effects that can stop Voids from getting close. We were told to just use ST attack on AV and the tanker will bring one Void at a time when we need it. Don't use pets that you can't control.
MoM is meant to be a challenging trial for higher levels. I've failed it 4-5 times and finished 2 times. I don't hate the trial. -
Merc - put both Negative damage and -resistance debuff procs, and put chance for smashing knock back in Commando (he can trigger with 3 aoe attacks and slug)
Ninja - put both negative and -resistance in Jounins and slot Genins with purple build up proc (since Genins attack the most frequently of all MM pets)
Robot - put chance for smashing knockback set in tier 1 and assault robot
Thug - put both negative damage and -resistance in Enforcers
Demon - put chance for smashing slow set in Demon Prince
Necro - put chance for negative damage in Lich and -resist proc in Grave Knight -
Quote:ATIO causes fear and tohit debuff? If so, don't waste it in Dominate. Dominate is too good of an attack. Can you slot ATIO in an aoe attack? If so, put it in Scream or Tornado then.Originally Posted by Trilby
I'm thinking of slotting for the ATIO in Dominate when it comes out but I am not sure. I mean, the proc will only really fire off on bosses/EBs/AVs/GMs, and dominate is a good attack power.
Any suggestions for Widow incarnate? I'm going cardiac core, pyronic, warworks. Not sure for destiny, either rebirth or barrier with res. Not sure for interface either.
I suggest you run double Assault and Maneuver. You will need Cardiac. The 20% +range helps too.
As for Interface, Fortunata can really use -resistance to boost her damage. Reactive. -
If you are running an offensive toggle like Disrupt, Placate will not suppress the toggle. It is a bug that can't and won't be fixed for a while. A. Hawk explained that to me.
Your best way is to follow up Placate with another attack, or you can try to de-toggle first. It's annoying I know.
The good news is since you are Kinetic Melee, you probably won't do Placate + Assassin Strike much. You can easily do Placate + Concentrated Strike even with Disrupt on. -
I can't imagine double Gang War... it's the lag I am worried about!
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Quote:Exactly. To those that wonder which is better: Fortunata, Night Widow or Blood Widow (follow-up), they are all very good. Choose your first build based on your style. If you prefer mostly range, go with Fort. If you like Stalker style, go with NW. If you like great dps, go with widow and follow-up claw attacks.Originally Posted by Person34
P
Don't get me wrong, the fort has some great stuff going for it and you won't be dissapointed if you enjoy playing a highly survivable controller-type. It just wasn't my cup of tea is all. It's win/win regardless of your decision. -
Quote:Finally somebody gets it! Fortunata is really good. My #1 Incarnate right now.Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
The "cure my melee addiction" thread got me thinking about VEATs for the first time in a long time. After reviewing city of data's numbers the first thing that came to mind was, "Holy crap, are you serious?" I'd totally forgotten how crazy fortunatas can get. Favorite part: You don't even need mind link to easily softcap all positions, but mind link takes you from that to easily incarnate softcapping all positions. Pretty crazy for an AT that gets totally comprehensive status protection, invisibility, and as Jibikao demonstrated the ability to have full and impressive st and aoe chains at ~100 foot range with cardiac. Maybe I've been playing too much melee lately myself...
Oh, bring your Fortunata to MoM itrial. You will love your superior psionic resistance.
Fort's ST damage (as far as I push) is maybe about 190-200ish. With two purple procs in Dominate, I can finally draining Pylon's health slowly but the rate is a bit too slow for my taste. No worries! Fortunata excels in other areas! Defense, team buffs, superior mez protection and nukes.
You get a mini-nuke that also stuns. You also get aoe confuse to start the fight.
You get to blast at 100ft range and hovering in air! -
Quote:Add DoT damage in Ice Slick!!! I call Ice Slick a "butt torture". :POriginally Posted by Blood Red Arachnid
The best way to fix Ice Slick is to just tweak Ice Slick by itself. How to do that, I am not sure of, however.
Every time I see Ice Slick go off, I see mobs slipping several times. It must have hurt their butts! -
Is it very skippable? No. But do you need more than one slot? No.
Placate can be somewhat useful on certain sets. On my Street Justice, I do use Placate with combo 3 Crushing Uppercut because it gives me another "Assassin strike" like damage. I love burst damage. It just feels so good to kill off Night Widow in one hit or finish off a boss before he/she gets into god-mode.
Placate + a decent ST or AoE can be good.
Placate + Assassin Strike is not so good unless you solo.
I like a guaranteed critical damage. It is a tactical advantage that every stalker should use. Yes, by dpsing, you may not miss Placate that much but you do save some endurance if you use it with a heavy attack.
Sets that benefit from Placate greatly:
1. SJ's Crushing Uppercut
2. Kinetic's Bulid Up refresh and Pbaoe Burst's 100% critical chance
3. Spines and Claw's Throw Spine and Shockwave
4. Martial Arts' Eagle Claw still hits like a truck.
Is there a power that you think is way better than Placate? If so, take it. Placate is not the cornerstone power in AT. Assassin Strike and Build Up are. -
Blah.. sucks.
Thanks for the answer. I had a feeling the -suppression may suppress all kinds of stealth but I was hoping stealth proc works differently from an actual power. -
Hey guys, I know that when stalker reveals himself, his stealth is suppressed which means he can easily be seen by nearby mobs.
What if I put a stealth IO in combat jumping? My Fort and Blaster have it in Hover and it helps greatly to reduce aggro.
Does Stalker's suppressed stealth make stealth IO useless? -
Are all Scrapper players going to commit suicide if Stalker beats Scrapper in single target dps?
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Quote:Do you think if they want to improve a set, the best way is to simply increase the base damage of an attack? Because you are right, messing with animation time/recharge will change how pet's behavior and how they cycle attacks.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Pet AI used to be incredibly twitchy with regard to how pets decided which powers to use. Its a lot better now, but still not 100% predictable. Changing either the cycle time of a power (the sum of cast and recharge) or the total amount of time casting powers (the sum of the cast times of the powers) can on some occasions radically alter how the pets behave. This means if Synapse so much as blows in the general direction of a pet power, he's probably just bought himself a couple of cycles of QA on that one little change.
Life Drain's base damage got increased and I really thought Lich could use one. Lich's Life Drain is still doing Dark Blast damage.
And I really think they can reduce recharge on Siphon Life. Zombie and Grave Knight's 2nd upgrade has 30s recharge. That is really awfully long.